How to safely store a bike in a small space

Unless you have the luxury of a garage or secure bike shed in your garden or yard, storing a bike at home can present quite a challenge. Especially if you're short on room in the first place. You may find yourself having to negotiate your bike in the kitchen while you make a cup of tea or are constantly tripping over it on your way to finding your shoes in the hallway. After a while, it can become frustrating and potentially even cause friction if you share a property with non-cycling types who just don't understand in the first place.

Read more: How to clean a bike in a flat or apartment

Fear not, though, as there are several handy solutions out there that can help keep your bike safe but also turn it into a cool feature within your home. Here are Manon Lloyd’s top bike storage solutions for when you don’t have much room.

1. Hang your bike on the wall for some enviable cycling artwork

Using a wall-mounted bike hook or rack can be quite a cool solution that not only helps free up floor space but with a bit of careful thought can create a central focus or talking point to a room. We’ve seen this implemented in the front room, hallway, kitchen and even the bedroom. So take your time picking the position you think it will look best before committing to fixing the hook or rack of your choice to the wall.

© GCN

With some careful positioning you can create an artwork masterpiece with your bike on the wall

When it comes to the actual equipment there are plenty of different options available ranging from very simple hooks at the cheaper end of the spectrum to more elaborate designs that cost a bit more. If you can afford to we’d say it's worth spending a little more on something that looks cool and integrates into your room for a better feature.

Think about an option that supports the top tube without scratching it for the most aesthetically pleasing finish. Alternatively, you can get fixings that hold the wheel instead and some are even able to rotate the bike into the wall saving even more valuable space.

Read more: How to protect your bike form scratches

If you are fixing something directly to the wall, make sure you check it can bear the weight of the hook with the bike in it and avoid any electrical wires or pipework that might be concealed. You don't want a DIY disaster on your hands.

2. Transform a small cupboard into a mini garage

This is something that can work well if you have a smallish cupboard or cloakroom at your disposal. Think about how you might use it as a mini garage. You’ll have to ditch the coats, shoes, cleaning products or whatever it is that you keep in your, but if you can rehouse those to a different wardrobe or part of the house you’ll be surprised how much room you might have in there once it’s been emptied.

Then set out where you'd position the bike first. A wall-mounted hook may suffice here to actually hold your bike in place. Add in some light storage shelves for your shoes, helmet, and cleaning bits to help keep the area tidy and in an orderly fashion so you can easily find all your cycling gear next time you're looking to head out quickly for a ride. If you’re really tight on space you could remove the front wheel to help fit the bike in a little easier.

3. Take it to the ceiling – your fifth wall

If you’re struggling to store your bike on one of the four walls of your house, have you considered the fifth wall? Your ceiling! On rooms with higher ceilings, there’s plenty of ‘dead’ space above you and some pretty ingenious solutions for getting your bike up there via pulleys and a ceiling hoist. Be warned though this is more of a permanent solution and does rely on being able to locate the ceiling joists or beams to fix the hoist to. Otherwise, you could be in danger of pulling on the pulley rope and bringing the whole ceiling down along with your bike. Then you'd have a much bigger problem to solve.

4. Floor to ceiling bike pole

This is a less permanent solution which can be useful if you live in rented accommodation and aren’t able to fix hooks and fixtures to a wall. The Topeak Dual-touch bike stand is a good example of this. It’s essentially a telescopic pole that extends to the height of your ceiling and can be clamped in place to ensure it remains sturdy support to house the bike.

©Topeak

A floor-to-ceiling bike stand like Topeak's Dual-Touch bike stand can hold up to four bikes

Depending on the height of your ceiling it can house up to four bikes, although you have to buy additional mounts to the two it comes with as standard. Positioned correctly this can look quite neat and give a showroom vibe as it makes a feature out of your bikes. Again, be careful where you place this in relation to ceiling joists to help create the correct level of clamping pressure to keep it sturdy.

5. Clean bike equals a clean living space

One of the most important things about storing a bike indoors regardless of how or where you put it is the cleanliness of the bike. No one is going to thank you for a muddy pedal or tyres leaving their mark on the walls or carpets, or bits falling off a dirty, oily chain as you hang it up or take it down. So keep on top of your bike cleaning routine - your bike will thank you for it in the end as will the rest of your co-habitants!

For more cycling tips and advice check out our dedicated How to section on the GCN website.

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